Web3App - Out of Business

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-founder of a startup called QualKey. We make it easier for people to prove their qualifications are authentic.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Web3App, and what were your goals?

We asked Web3App to develop the back and front end platform, incorporating blockchain integration as part of our minimum viable product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We wanted developers that could provide holistic expertise across back end, front end, blockchain and webpage design across multiple devices.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Deliverables were defined by a Technical Design document that Web3App helped us to develop. Following a kick-off meeting the project was split into 9 sprints, each with a review and sign off session.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We liaised with three main points of contact. Main interactions were with a project manager on a weekly basis. We had occasional direct contact with the front end developer, and the blockchain specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Too early to define as we are a startup. The delivery of a testing platform allowed us to demo our service and attract prospective clients.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had formal weekly review sessions using Google Meets. The team gave use access to Trello so we could monitor progress remotely. We used a group Whatsapp to ensure regular communication with same day responses to questions, issues, or escalations.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their willingness to go above and beyond to meet our business requirements is impressive. This included working solidly over the weekend in order to help us fulfill a short notice client meeting, along with providing useful guidance and suggestions during the development process.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

The initial user testing process could have been more intensive and documented better. Some bugs were identified by me that I would have expected to be identified and resolved earlier. However, with feedback, this improved and a more structured approach to testing was implemented.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Self employed professional Artist/painter. Member of the Artist's Union of Latvia since 2007 and held more than 20 solo exhibitions in Riga, Jūrmala, Valmiera and other Latvian cities and towns. Take part on a regular basis in group exhibitions in Latvia, as well as in art projects of an international significance. Represented Latvian art at the international conference “Baltic Connecting” (2019) and since 2018, head my own “Karine Paronyanc Art Studio”.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Web3App, and what were your goals?

Professional home page develepment. Content upload through CMS. Structured perfectly working home page. 24/7 assistance and technical support.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Recommendations from professionals from IT area. The deciding factor was that company is new and tended for development, is interested in new projects and professional growth. I appreciate personal approach and readiness of young specialists to be involved in new creative sphere.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had a kick-off meeting to discuss project goal and deliverables. After detailed discussion and contract negotiation, the team started to review designed mockups (provided by our designer). Thereafter development with defined iterations has started. After each iteration we reviewed the deliverables and provided feedback to fix the issues. Team has used Heroku CMS. During development team has efficiently reacted and improved customer experience according to preliminary reviews by other users. We appreciated team to be flexible and open-minded.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A project manager was our main contact person during the whole development. Also there were two full-stack developers along with our designer, working as a good solid team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Systemized gallery of my paintings archive, convenient for content management and customers' usage. Useful platform to inform customers about upcoming events, exhibitions, and other creative activities. Great home page of the artist with all professional information for representative needs.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had regular communication with PM and development team through Zoom meetings, WhatsApp chats, and Google archive. They were professional in explaining complex things in a simple way.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Personal attitude, quick reaction to my requests, technical support after production deployment (hypercare) .

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Team should have been more proactive when assessing and reviewing designed mockups, when something is not that super user-friendly or convenient for use.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Co-Founder of a service provider startup that provides blockchain authenticated certificates to the UK education sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Web3App?

Our founding team wanted to complement our internal IT development expertise with an external partner to review our blockchain integration system and optimize our designs.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were actively looking for prospective vendors at IT conventions. Web3App reacted to our post. They made a solid first impression for which they prepared some drafts to showcase their expertise. We went with them as they had a proactive approach and demonstrated repeatedly that they will go the extra mile.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project included the integration of a database with Hedera (a public blockchain / hashgraph provider) to create immutable records. Web3App researched the systems of Hedera and took the initiative to get in touch with the Hedera community. Web3App held workshops to understand our existing designs and business objectives before delivering a technical design document. Following feedback and iterations this document was accepted by us.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were 2 main developers working with us including an IT solution architect. Our main contact was the business manager who managed our business expectations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have a technical design document, which we independently peer-reviewed and found as a robust solution. Based on this document, we could estimate costs realistically and reduce the initial effort estimation by 30%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow was excellent. The team were very responsive with a proactive communication style. We always knew the status of the project and stayed in touch via email, messenger services (if we needed quick answers), as well as regular calls.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their proactive and make-it-happen attitude really stood out. In our first call, they listened carefully what we needed and came up with some initial drafts to guide the discussion. We welcomed their openness to challenge us as a client to share their expertise. This led to better solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

It's a young company that still needs create solid processes, such as project management principles, creation of status reports, and preparation and moderation of workshops. However, their openness to feedback makes them close these gaps quickly, so these areas of improvement are relatively minor compared to the value that they deliver.